Must see band: “Hot Sauce”

I found some great local talent this last Thursday when I went out to Royal Oak and was doing a little bar hopping. Our first stop was O’Tooles; which felt like a bar that was imported from my days of going to Canada to drink when I was 19. It was a boring, no frills get hammered bar and had no character. After 20 minutes of the sausage-fest at O’Tooles we went down the street a couple doors to 5th Avenue. In sharp contrast to our last stop; 5th Avenue had a great vibe and did a good job of mixing pool hall, live music and elegant bar scene.

My friend Amanda, my social maven, suggested that we check out the band “Hot Sauce” that was playing that night. As soon as these guys started playing I knew we were going to be parked for the night. The band consisted of a lead singer, guitars, a horn section, a drummer, and a slew of keyboards. I was worried when I saw all of those keys at first, but they were put to good use. Their mantra is “real good, feel good music” and they delivered. Their original music was full bodied and fully thought out, not at all amateurish or cookie-cutter – and their covers were spot on. They played a little Stevie, a little Black Eyed Peas and some other upbeat soulful stuff I pretended to know to try to fit in and be a hep cat white guy. :P

I cannot overstate how good these guys are musically; as a drummer I have a special affinity for the percussion – this drummer was absolutely amazing. If you have ever heard Carter Beauford from Dave Mathew’s Band play then you have a feel for this guys chops. The sax player and the bass player also stood out as something special; but the whole band was very talented. If you get a chance to see a live show anytime soon and you need a reprieve from the worries of this world try to catch one of these guy’s shows.

4 Comments so far

You beat me to this post. I was planning on doing an entry about HotSauce. They are an amaing band. Their CD, Just a Taste, doesn’t do justice to their live performances. They were also at the Winter Blast in the Taste of Detroit tent.

Oh and by the way, I was at there Thursday night. I’m sure you saw me, since I was the winner of the gift bag.

Detroit Census TriplicationMollika* I had to return a fourth survey. I am representing the non-Doctor Indian population of Detroit :0)likwidshoe It’s all about representation, not funding. Detroiters needs to lose the entitlement mindset.